It was resolved:
85.77.1 To submit the theological statement about poor people and the Gospel (see Report) to Synods, Presbyteries and Parishes for study so that as the Uniting Church we might struggle with its implications for our life and witness in the Australian community.
85.77.2 To urge parishes and congregations to develop ways to listen to and identify with the poor and marginalised in their community and together struggle to discover the Good News and the Signs of the Kingdom.
85.77.3 To declare its belief that in a nation as wealthy as Australia, poverty should not and need not exist.
85.77.4 To call upon the various Synods, Presbyteries and Parishes to a re-examination of the Church’s economic priorities and use of resources.
85.77.5 To urge the Parishes, as one step in the journey towards economic justice, to set aside 2% of all incomes for projects aimed at eliminating poverty, both in Australia and the rest of the world.
85.77.6 To encourage the people of Australia, and Christians in particular, to respond to poverty by joining ecumenical initiatives on poverty.
85.77.7 To urge the Australian Government to ensure that poor and disadvantages people, especially those dependent on Commonwealth benefits and pensions, are adequately represented at the tax summit, and other processes of consultation on issues of the economy, poverty or tax. That is:
- by representation in numbers which reflect their numbers in the Australian community;
- by specific representatives for specific groups, which include:
- - unemployed people
- children
- invalid pensioners
- aged pensioners
- single parents
- Aboriginals
- recent refugees and migrants from Asia
- recent refugees and migrants from Latin America - such representation should include a high proportion of women, since more women than men are affected by poverty and are at risk of poverty.
